Journal of N-fans: Lisa’s Mental Logs

 

Mission #2: N-Teams

 

Day Two, Part Two

 

 

August 7, 2001

11:50AM VideoLand Standard Time

 

Sigh… This is not good…

My name is Lisa Fitzwater. I’m an N-fan, and these are my mental logs.

N-finity, the leader of our group, finally came up with a way to travel from Earth to VideoLand without using the Ultimate Warp Zone. He has chosen five fellow fans of the animated series called Captain N: The Game Master to travel with him to explore the different video worlds. There’s Chris Blair, whom has truly earned the title of ‘Game Master’ among our group; Zero Miyamoto, aka Roll-chan, who is a good friend and the main scout of the crew; Mark Moore, our…pervert and comic relief; and Doc Arcade, the group scientist--and my one true love. Oh, Doc-kun! How my burning heart full of passionate lovin’ yearns for your soft lips and gentle touch…

Okay, girl, snap out it! Sorry, but I got a huge crush on Doc-kun.

And my role? I’m just your regular, hyper-genki fangirl who loves to go on adventures…until she has enough and decides to go home, like I was going to do until these people showed up!

The newcomers are the new group of people called ‘Neo N-fans’. They are fans who might have never seen the show, but got hooked onto it thru web sites. One has taken up the form of a Metool, and another looks like an emerald version of Mega Man X. I have no clue ‘bout who the guy in the red cape is.

But the green-armored duck…I know him all too well. As UD_Gal on the CaptainN.Net message boards, I am one of two normal users who patrol the boards and alert the mods and admin whenever a flame comes up. I’m the detective of the board…and that duck…he’s my partner, in a way.

His name is Deputy Disco Duck, and he just happens to be Moore’s online friend.

The other three fans leap out of the teleporter, but Deputy Duck stays in there. He just poses and says, “Quack, baby. Quack.”

What kind of lousy intro line is that?!

“Damnit, Disco! What the hell are you doing?” I think you just spoke for the whole group, N-finity.

“Couldn’t let you party without me,” Duck replies. “For we are Disco Duck…and the Disco Crew!

Disco Crew…? Yeesh! Duck seems so lame in real-life that his online self is cool! I mean no offense to him, but he could come up with a more catchy title, like ‘The Quacksters’! Yes, I tend to be picky ‘bout these things. I’m an author, so I’ve developed a taste for more catchy stuff, like this battle cry for a paladin in the D&D RPG: “Have at thee, foul bane of humanity!” Rather windy, yes, but we’re talking ‘bout a guy whose the ultimate role model of his deity, and usually of righteousness. But I digress…

“Come, Disco Crew!” Duck shouts to his group. “Follow me!” And there they go, running off into VideoLand.

Good riddance, I say! I have never been comfortable ‘round him lately! Now, we can go home while his group can have their chance of exploring VideoLand.

Wait a sec…Disco exploring VideoLand with his own little gang of N-fans…plus Moore running around going Wily on all that stands in his way…equals…

Oh, crap…oh, damn!

“Remember that ‘something to do’ I was talking about, Zero?” N speaks up.

“We just found it, didn’t we?” she replies.

“I, unfortunately, think so.” You ‘n’ me both, brothah!

Don’t get the wrong idea ‘bout Disco--he ain’t evil. But he can cause some chaos just wandering ‘round the place. Somehow…he kinda reminds me of a slightly dumb, humanized Gaav.

N turns to face the rest of us. “Now that we’re here for a bit longer, we’ll have to consider splitting up so that we could split up into groups to cover more ground…but we have a problem: There are only 5 of us. We need more N-fans to do this job adequately. Doc…Operation Reload.” Huh? What the heck…?

“Don’t you mean Plan B?”

“Oh, yes. Nevermind on Operation Reload. We’ve done Operation Reload, haven’t we, Z?”

I have no idea why Zero is snickering that way…

“I don’t want to know.” You’ve read my mind, Doc. “So, who are we calling for in Plan B?” he asks N.

“Ahh…the question you all want to know the answer to!”

Yep! Leadership has definitely gone to N-finity’s head! Now, he’s starting to get cocky! I swear, if he shows any more symptoms of too much leadership, I’m gonna get everyone to vote him down to normal member status and make Chris the new leader! At least he knows better than to--

Ah! Six fellow N-fans are teleporting in now! Lalala and Dynamo are old forum companions, while Lady Bass, Zeldafreak, and Mike J. (aka the Tim Allen techie) are acquaintances. I have only heard about Adam Stout--the 8-bit Mega Man--but if he’s as good a gamer as N told me, then he should hold up his end of things in battle, which is really important, since we’ll probably end up running into that pervert…again.

“Welcome, my friends, to VideoLand!” N greets them.

“Wow…this is so cool!” Lalala smiles cutely.

“Totally!” I agree with her. Then, I become serious. “However, we’re not here for fun anymore.”

“That serious, huh?” Mike asks. I silently nod in reply.

We all gather around N-finity to hear his new plans. “N-fans, we have a new mission. We have, due to our wish to become closer to our television show, unleashed terrible forces into VideoLand. First, we brought Mark Moore, who has lost his mind and taken the place of Dr. Wily in MegaLand. Second, due to my lack of foresight, Disco Duck and a group of Neo N-fans have been unleashed into the Video Worlds. We must now stop these evil forces. There are nine of us--“

“Eleven,” I correct him.

“Sorry,” N apologizes. “Anyway, there will be three teams of three--the N-teams.”

N-teams? Huh…that sounds very catching! And yet…so fitting… Why do I have a feeling that we’re about to become more than regular N-fans?

“We will break into three teams and Tech Support,” our leader continues. “Team Red will go after Mark Moore. Chris, Lisa, and Bass: That team is you.”

Oh, joy…my group gets to go after the crazy perverted villain! Sigh… At least Chris is our Team Leader. Somehow…it seems so fitting that Chris should lead the team that goes after Moore. After all, both hate each other’s guts, and--

Hold on a sec! This is suddenly starting to sound like Chris-kun’s Captain N 64 story! Holy schnikees!

So I hang around Doc a lot. Sue me!

N-finity is still giving out instructions, though, so back to him! “Team Yellow will be formed of only new recruits and led by Lalala. Adam Stout and Zeldafreak will also make up this team.” Wise choice, N. Lalala may sound like a happy-go-lucky person, but she can be quite serious on important matters. “Team Blues will consist of Dynamo, Zero, and myself for which I will be Team Leader.” Who didn’t see that one coming? “Teams Yellow and Blue will both go after the Disco Crew.

“Team Yellow, I wish you luck,” N adds. “If you need a few days to get a feeling for VideoLand before you begin tracking the Disco Crew, this is completely understandable and I actually suggest you do so.” So do I. “Tech Support, made up of Doc and Mick, will be responsible for contacting the teams and developing new technology to aid in their missions.”

I can’t help glance at the one man I truly love. I know he’ll be all right here, since there’s no real danger in the area, but…that doesn’t stop me from worrying ‘bout him.

But I must focus on N again as he gives Chris and Lalala a pair of devices. “Team Leaders, you will be given Warp Zone Shifters.” So, that’s what they are! “You will be responsible for your teammates. Do not let them down.” Mind you, N, we’re expecting you to do the same thing, too! “You have your assignments. N-Teams: Break out!”

I walk over to Doc for a few last words before my group sets out. “You sure you’ll be fine here?”

“Don’t worry, Lisa. There are no monsters in the entire area. And even if there are any, Mike and I can come up with new toys to take care of them.” Doc’s so cute when he’s being optimistic!

“Ah!” Wha…he’s…hugging me? I can easily feel my cheeks turning oh so many shades of red this very moment. “Doc-kun…?”

Doc’s looking at me with his adorable, puppy-dog-brown eyes. “Please take care of yourself, Lisa. I know we’ll still be in contact, but…I don’t really know what I’ll do if anything ever happened to you.”

Can this be? Does he truly care about me that much? “Ah, hai!” I nod, still blushing scarlet. Then, like the dazed, love-struck gal I am, I squeeze his hand after he squeezes mine, and I rejoin Chris and Lady Bass.

“You okay, Lis?”

“Hm? Oh, yes, I’m fine!” I smile at Chris reassuringly. “Just having a little chat with Doc before I leave with you guys. So, where are we gonna start our search for that ol’ pervert?” Can you tell that I’m happy now?

“Um, I really need to talk with N ‘bout that.”

“Eh?” Now, what? “Why?”

“Well…I gotta go to a con.”

“Con?”

“It’s slang for convention,” I explain to Bass. Then, I turn back to Chris. “But if you’re leaving, who’s gonna lead our team, then?”

“Why, you, of course?”

Heeehhhhh?!?!Me?! Why me?”

“Lisa, Lady Bass is new here, remember? You’re the only other veteran of the team. Besides, I have faith for you,” he adds with a confident smile.

Oh, boy! My stomach’s doing flip-flops now! “B-but I don’t know how to use the Shifter!”

“Oh, it’s easy!” And Chris actually walks me thru the steps of opening up my own portals! “You think you got it now?”

“I think so.” I’ll probably get the hang of it after my head stops spinning, though!

“Good. I’ll see you girls within a Terran week, then! Take care, and frag some butt for me, k?”

Good ol’ Chris, always joking ‘bout fragging the baddies. “Sure thing, Cap!”

“Why did you call him Cap?” Bass asks.

“Because he’s known as Captain N Neo, remember?”

“Oh, yeah…”

Moment of silence…

“Should we get going?” Bass quipped.

“Yeah. We’re gonna head to Skull Fortress first, since that’s where we last met Moore. We’ll pick up his trail from there--and hopefully find the real Wily,” I tell her. “We also need to keep an eye out for any Robot Masters--especially for Forte, aka Bass--as well as any members of the League of Darkness that might show up.”

Bass is nodding. Good, she’s following me just fine.

“Any questions?”

“Just one: How can we find Moore?”

“Easy. Either he’ll leave a trail of destruction, or we can just check out all the adult stores and brothels,” I add rather jokingly. Now that Bass is done giggling, I add, “Seriously, though, if we don’t find him soon, he’ll end up finding us. We’ll just have to keep our guards up, then.”

“I can live with that.”

“Good. Now, let’s get going!” To be honest, using a Warp Zone Shifter is easier than it looks…well, just a little.

And off we go!

 

 

12:03PM MegaLand Standard Time

 

We’ve landed at Skull Fortress--actually, outside of it! I may be naïve at time, but I ain’t stupid! Anyway, we’re on the side of a bridge facing the main entrance, so what do we do? We immediately duck beneath some bushes, hoping that no one has seen us!

“I don’t think they saw us…yet.” I’m saying that more to myself than to Lady Bass here.

“Are you sure?” Oh, boy, Bass is already getting a little nervous! I really hope that I can pull this leader thing off properly, or Chris will never leave me in charge of the group again!

“Er, not entirely…but I’m fairly certain that we’re okay for the moment.” Confident smile, girl. Ya don’t wanna scare the newbie! Now, to get down to business… “I don’t think we really need to head into the fortress. As far as I’m sure, Moore’s got that area crawling all over with Robot Masters and their lil lackeys. We’ll just scout the area until either two full hours have passed, or Moore himself shows up. Then, we’ll move on to the area around Dr. Light’s citadel.”

“Why there?”

“Because if Moore’s gonna be Wily, then, he’s gonna start with the deaths of Mega Man and his family as well as the conquest of MegaLand. Then…he’ll slowly kill off the rest of the N-Team and other heroes as he takes over their worlds…until he finally slays Captain N and Princess Lana and is crowned the new ruler of VideoLand.” Narrow the eyes; show that you’re very serious ‘bout this.

“You mean…he’s finally gone Commandant?” Bass’s eyes widen in fearful shock.

“Most likely. I just pray that this doesn’t end up like Chris’ CN64 story! C’mon, let’s get moving. And keep your blaster ready for battle.”

 

 

12:34PM

 

Oy, oy…my blaster is aching--again! I almost forgot that the immediate areas surrounding a fortress is always, always patrolled as well! The last few years since I last played a console game has seriously affected my gaming memories, but at least I’m still able to kick robo-butt after all this time! Luckily, Lady Bass can fight pretty well, too, and she’s taken out quite a lot of baddies for her share of the fights.

And yet, I keep getting this feeling that…we’re being watched…

“Hahh! Die, scum!!” Bass is just fragging those SOBs! Damn, she’s very good at this! No wonder she’s called Lady Bass: she can be as dangerous in battle as Forte! “Augh!!” What the--she’s knocked out by a beam! And from behind us…

Oh, crap…I should have not turned around…I am sooo dead…